


Happy New Year

by PhoenixAD



Category: Chicago Fire
Genre: BFFP, F/M, New Year's Eve, New Year's Kiss, New Year's Resolutions, Tumblr: BFFP (Chicago Fire)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:34:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28499139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoenixAD/pseuds/PhoenixAD
Summary: I want your midnights, but I'll be cleaning up bottles with you on New Year's Day.New Year's Day - Taylor Swift
Relationships: Sylvie Brett & Matthew Casey, Sylvie Brett/Matthew Casey
Comments: 32
Kudos: 113





	Happy New Year

**Author's Note:**

> **I want your midnights, but I'll be cleaning up bottles with you on New Year's Day.**
> 
> New Year's Day - Taylor Swift

“What time are you coming?” 

Sylvie sighed, glancing at the clock; it was just after seven on New Year’s Eve and they’d been off shift for twelve hours, half of which she had slept, and she still didn’t want to do anything but go lay in her bed. She didn’t want to go to a New Year’s Eve gathering thrown by Stella and Kelly, since Matt would definitely be there, considering he lived with them. 

“I don’t know if I am.” Sylvie admitted. “I don’t really feel up to it.” 

“You’re coming.” Stella exclaimed. “It’s not optional. I’ll come kidnap your ass and drag you to the party if you don’t show up by ten.” 

“Stella.” Sylvie whined. “It’s cold and I don’t want to go out.” 

“Bullshit. You don’t wanna see Casey.” Stella sighed. “I thought you guys decided to be friends, now you’re barely speaking outside of work.” 

“It’s awkward, Stella.” Sylvie groaned. 

“It will not get any less awkward until you force yourself to be around him and get past it.” Stella laughed. “Look, 2020 has been a disaster year, Sylvie. We are celebrating our survival. Just get your ass dressed and come.” 

“Fine.” Sylvie accepted defeat. “I’ll be there by ten.” 

* * *

Sylvie checked her red lipstick in the mirror on her visor of her car; she may _feel_ terrible, but she would not _look_ terrible. 

She’d finally gotten brave enough to wear the little black dress she’d impulsively purchased over a year before, and it was a confidence boost she desperately needed to get through the night. 

Running her fingers through her curled hair one last time, Sylvie climbed out of her car and hurried inside the apartment building, trying to get away from the cold as quickly as possible. 

Sylvie checked her phone on the elevator, checking the time; 9:58PM. 

“Well, I said before ten.” Sylvie mumbled to herself as she stepped off the elevator and walked the few steps to their door, knocking. 

“Hey!” Stella exclaimed as she yanked the door open. “There you are! Happy New Year!” 

Sylvie laughed at her obviously already tipsy best friend. “Happy New Year.” 

“You can put your jacket and purse in our room.” Stella pointed towards their room, as if Sylvie hadn’t been in this apartment a hundred times. “There’s booze on the counter. Help yourself to whatever you want.” 

“Thanks.” 

Sylvie glanced around the room; it wasn’t a large gathering, thanks to COVID. 

Sylvie’s eyes found Matt first, though his back was to her, she could hear him laughing while talking to Gallo. 

Herrmann had made the choice to not have Molly’s open on the holiday, opting to spend it with his family, out of concern about it getting too crowded for the night, so Stella and Kelly had invited 51 to their apartment. 

Sylvie hurried past Matt and Gallo towards the bedrooms; Kelly and Stella’s bed had been turned into a catchall for everybody’s jackets, so she shrugged her own off, tossing it on top, and put her purse on the back of the desk chair next to Stella’s. 

Turning back towards the door, Sylvie jumped backwards in surprise when she saw Matt leaning in the doorway. 

“Jesus, Matt.” Sylvie laughed. “Announce yourself next time.” 

“Sorry.” Matt laughed. “Didn’t mean to scare you.” 

Matt’s eyes moved from her face, taking in the sight of her tight black dress, and Sylvie smirked; it really was doing wonders for her confidence. 

“I’m going to go get a drink.” Sylvie brushed past him and felt him watching her walk away; Gianna was in the kitchen, pouring herself a cup of punch. “Hey Mackey.” 

“Hey partner.” Gianna smiled. “That’s a hell of a dress, you look amazing.”

“Thank you.” Sylvie smiled, grabbing a red solo cup and pouring herself some punch. “I figure I haven’t really had an excuse to wear a dress much this year. Might as well take the opportunity when I have it.” 

Gianna laughed, holding her cup for a toast. “Cheers to this shitshow of a year finally ending.” 

“Cheers to that.” Sylvie agreed with a laugh. 

Gianna wandered off to join Gallo and Ritter at the table where they were setting up Jenga, and Sylvie sighed, leaning against the counter. 

“Brett! Want to join?” Gallo shouted, noticing her alone. 

“I’m good.” Sylvie shook her head. “Thanks.” 

“So.” Matt sat down in one of the barstools across from her. “What a year, huh?” 

Sylvie scoffed. “Worst ever.” 

“It was pretty terrible, I won’t argue.” Matt laughed. “It had some good parts.” 

“Maybe.” Sylvie shrugged. “I can’t think of any at the moment.” 

“You and me.” Matt’s words made Sylvie look up to meet his eyes. “Us getting a lot closer was a good part.” 

“Yeah.” Sylvie tore her eyes away from him, looking down at her alcoholic punch in her hand before taking a drink. “Look how that ended.” 

Sylvie heard Matt stand up, rather than see; she was still staring at her cup, until his hand under her chin made her look up, but she still refused to let herself look in his eyes. 

“It hasn’t ended.” 

Sylvie stepped backwards, not trusting herself that close to him. “It’s not like it was before, though, is it?” 

She didn’t give him a chance to respond, brushing past him to join her friends in the living room. 

* * *

Matt’s eyes followed Sylvie as she made her rounds, talking to everybody; he was sitting alone at the counter, sipping his third beer of the night. 

“You’re acting like a weirdo.” Kelly commented as he walked in the kitchen to grab another beer. “Stop staring.” 

“I’m not staring.” Matt lied. 

“Yeah, you are.” Kelly laughed. “With the dress she’s wearing, nobody can blame you, but stop.” 

Matt tore his eyes away from Sylvie to glare at his best friend. “Leave me alone.” 

“Cheer up, man. The year is almost over!” Kelly laughed, shaking his head. “We survived.” 

Matt looked for Sylvie in the crowd again; this time, she was looking at him. She quickly looked away, back to her conversation with Chloe. 

They couldn’t go start a new year like this, Matt decided; this barely speaking was driving him crazy. 

Matt finished his beer before making his way to Sylvie and Chloe. 

“Hi Captain.” Chloe greeted him with a smile. “I’ll give you two a minute.”

Matt waited until Chloe was out of earshot. “Can we talk?” 

“Uh, okay.”

“Can we talk somewhere else?” Matt glanced towards their friends; Ritter, Cruz, Stella, and Chloe were all watching them. “My room is quieter, away from... nosy friends.” 

Sylvie hesitated; she barely trusted her self-control around Matt at work and at Molly’s. Going to his bedroom alone with him was definitely pushing her self-control to its limits. 

“I’d suggest the roof, but I can’t imagine even with your coat you would be warm enough.”

“No, it’s fine.” Sylvie ran her hand through her hair. “Just let me refill my drink. I’ll meet you there in a second.” 

“Okay.” 

Sylvie refilled her drink and took a few shaky breaths before walking down the hall to Matt’s room; he’d left the door open, sitting down at his desk. 

Sitting down on the bed, Sylvie glanced down at the open notepad, seeing his familiar neat handwriting. 

_2021 goals._

“Is goals the same thing as resolutions?” 

“I guess, technically.” Matt shrugged. 

“You didn’t write anything down.” Sylvie pointed out, reaching down to slip her heels off so she could pull her legs up on to the bed. “No goals?” 

“I couldn’t think of any earlier.” Matt watched her set her drink down on his nightstand. “What about you? Any New Year’s resolutions?” 

“You know, the usuals. Eat healthier, work out more, spend less time looking at screens.” Sylvie shrugged. “Never lasts past the third.” 

Matt reached over and grabbed the notepad, scribbling something down. 

“What’d you write?” Sylvie asked. 

“Something I’d technically like to get sorted out before midnight, but that might be an unrealistic goal since that’s less than half an hour from now.” Matt handed her the notepad back. 

_Fix things with Sylvie._

“Matt.” Sylvie sighed, setting the notepad down. “You’re not making this any easier.” 

“I know I was an idiot, but I refuse to believe that’s it.” Matt sighed. “I don’t know how to fix it, but I know I want to fix it.” 

“I don’t know how to fix it either, Matt.” Tears stung at Sylvie’s eyes, but she closed her eyes and willed them away. “I wish I did.” 

“I keep trying to tell you that my feelings for you are real. I’m crazy about you, Sylvie.” 

“I know you have feelings for me, I’m not questioning that.” Sylvie shook her head, picking up her drink; she needed the alcohol. 

“Then what are you questioning?” Matt asked. “Seriously, Sylvie, tell me. Tell me what you’re worried about so I can try to-”

“I’m worried I can’t compete with Gabriela Dawson!” Sylvie’s voice came out louder than she planned, and she lowered it. “And more than that, I don’t want to have to compete with her.” 

“It’s not a competition, Sylvie. It’s not.” Matt insisted. “You and her are completely separate in my mind. You are very different people, our relationships are very different, and the way I feel about you is different.” 

“That doesn’t mean I’m not a second choice.” Sylvie sighed. “Or that you wouldn’t choose her if she came back, and that is not something my heart would ever recover from. These past two months have been bad enough.” 

“Jesus, Sylvie. Do you really think I’d do that?” Matt exclaimed. “Choose her if she came back? And we were together?” 

“No, I don’t think you would.” Sylvie shook her head. “You’re too nice. Doesn’t mean you wouldn’t want to.”

“I don’t want Gabby back. Regardless of us, that’s over.” Matt stated. “Seriously? This is what you’ve been afraid of?” 

“I saw you two together, Matt.” Sylvie finished off her drink. “I had a front-row seat to it!” 

“Yeah, you did.” Matt agreed. “You also had a front-row seat to all the fights, the break-ups, all the drama. I don’t want that back.” 

Sylvie sighed; she believed him, knew he meant what he was saying, but there was still something in her brain causing her doubt. 

“We were dysfunctional, healthy to the point it was nearing toxic by the end. I didn’t see it then.” Matt shook his head. “God knows I should have, having witnessed my parents’ toxic, albeit very differently toxic, marriage.”

Sylvie saw the look in Matt’s eyes when he brought up his parents; she’d been told years ago that there was an unspoken rule of not bringing his parents up, and she’d always followed it without question. Now she knew why, seeing the sadness and anger etched in his features. 

“Matt...” Sylvie scrambled off the bed, unable to stop herself from trying to comfort him; she touched his arm while trying to decide what to say, but he grabbed her hand, linking his fingers through hers. 

“Sylvie.” Gone was the anger and sadness she’d seen when he was talking about his parents, replaced with an earnestness and softness that made her breath catch in her throat. “There’s no scenario where she comes back and I chose her over you. You’re... everything I’ve ever wanted in a partner, and if our friendship is any indication of how our relationship would be, I know we’d be amazing together, the kind of partnership I want. The kind I’ve always wanted. So no, it’s not a competition, and even if it was, you’d win. By a long shot.” 

Sylvie let out a shaky breath; that was all she had ever wanted to hear, and she couldn’t believe she was actually hearing it. 

“Talk to me, Sylvie.” 

Sylvie smiled. “You’re going to need a new goal for 2021. You already completed that one.” 

Matt grinned as Sylvie leaned down until a knock on the door interrupted them, and Sylvie pulled back. 

“Come on, it’s three minutes’ til midnight!” Stella shouted. 

“Her timing is really impeccable.” Matt shook his head. 

“Oh, come on.” Sylvie grabbed his hand, pulling him up. “You can wait three minutes for a midnight kiss.” 

Matt kept his hand linked with hers, letting her lead him out of the bedroom and into the living room. 

“There you two are!” Stella exclaimed, shoving black party hats with HAPPY NEW YEAR written on them, then 2021 glasses. 

“Is this strictly necessary?” Matt laughed. 

“Yes.” Stella shot him a glare. “And for that, here you go.” 

Stella reached up, putting a few silver beaded necklaces on him. 

Sylvie resisted the urge to laugh, putting her own glasses and hat on. “It’s for five minutes.” 

“Okay, picture time!” Stella grabbed her phone, snapping a picture of the two of them. “I’ll send it to you.” 

“One minute!” Gallo shouted. 

“Better go find Kelly.” Stella laughed. “Happy new year!” 

Sylvie looked up at Matt, grinning as she pulled the glasses off his face. “These really are tacky.” 

“They are.” Matt laughed. 

“10! 9! 8! 7! 6!” Everybody started the countdown as Sylvie slipped her arms around Matt’s neck. “5! 4! 3! 2! 1!” 

“Happy New Year.” Sylvie’s was more of a whisper than everybody else’s as Matt leaned down, pressing his lips against hers in a gentle kiss.

There was a lot of commotion, cheers and shouts, and the sound of noisemakers, but they ignored all of it. 

Matt smiled as he pulled away. “Happy new year.” 

* * *

Sylvie yawned as she sat on the couch, her head on Matt’s shoulder. 

“Tired?” 

“It’s almost two in the morning.” Sylvie laughed. “Of course I’m tired.” 

The party was winding down; there were only a few people; Gallo and Gianna were sitting on the floor, the Jenga game set up between them on the coffee table, and Ritter and his boyfriend, Eric, were at the table with Stella and Kelly. 

“Is it that late already?”

“Yep.” Sylvie tilted her head to look up at him. “Haven’t you heard that time flies when you’re having fun?” 

“I have.” Matt chuckled, kissing the top of her head. “You’ve had a lot of that vodka punch. I can drive you home if you’re ready to go.” 

“Or...” Sylvie snuggled in closer against his side. “I can just stay.” 

“You’ve had a lot of that vodka punch.” Matt repeated with a smile. “You can stay, but I’ll sleep on the couch.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Sylvie stood up, grabbing Matt’s hand. “You’ll sleep in the bed with me because we’re both grown adults.” 

They were both pretty sure their friends were too preoccupied to notice them disappearing into Matt’s room, not that they were particularly worried if anybody knew; they’d spent the last two hours cuddled up on the couch. 

Matt went straight for his dresser, grabbing a CFD shirt and some sweats. “Here, to sleep in.” 

“Thanks.” Sylvie grabbed the clothes from him then turned around. “Can you unzip this?”

Matt unzipped the back of her dress, and she turned around to kiss him; he pulled away a few seconds later with a smirk. “Maybe I really should sleep on the couch.” 

“I’ll behave.” Sylvie promised with a grin. “Such a respectful gentleman.” 

“You’re not making that easy.” Matt laughed, stepping backwards towards the door. “I’ll give you a minute to change.” 

Matt grabbed a couple of water bottles out of the kitchen before looking around the apartment; it was going to be a mess to clean up in the morning, or more likely, afternoon; the odds of Kelly and Stella getting up before noon were pretty slim. 

“Goodnight.” Matt waved at his friends. 

“Night.” Kelly replied. “Happy New Year.” 

It was two hours into 2021, and it was already a better year than 2020. “Happy New Year.” 

* * *

Sylvie woke up before Matt; she had her head on his chest, an arm draped across his stomach. She couldn’t have imagined it was a particularly comfortable position for him, even if he was sleeping soundly. 

She rolled over, reaching for her phone on the nightstand; 9:05AM. Sitting up, she was grateful Matt had sat a water bottle on the nightstand for her before they’d gone to bed, and even more grateful she didn’t feel like she needed the pain pills he’d also left for her. 

What Sylvie did want was coffee, so she slipped off the bed as quietly as possible and tiptoed out of the room. 

She was hoping she wouldn’t bump into Kelly or Stella, at least not before she had some coffee in her system, so she sighed in relief when it appeared they were still sleeping, and turned on the coffee pot. 

Sylvie took in the sight of the mess in the living room as the coffee brewed; she wasn’t surprised by the beer bottles and plastic cups everywhere, but the glitter was a mystery. She couldn’t remember the glitter. 

It took a few minutes to find where they kept the trash bags; Sylvie had barely picked a few beer bottles up when Matt walked in. 

“You don’t have to do that.” Matt used his fingers to push his hair back. “We’ll clean up after Stella and Severide up. Although this whole thing was their plan, it should be their problem.” 

“I don’t mind.” Sylvie smiled as Matt grabbed a few bottles, tossing them into the bag. “What’s with the glitter?”

“They filled the balloons with it.” Matt chuckled. “Which I warned Stella was a disaster waiting to happen. Obviously a few got popped. We’re going to be finding glitter for weeks.” 

“More like months.” Sylvie had done enough craft projects to know that glitter was hard to get rid of. 

Matt took the bag from her and sat it down, wrapping his arms around her waist. “I woke up, and you were gone. I thought you’d snuck out on me.” 

Sylvie smiled. “I just didn’t want to wake you. You couldn’t have slept that great with me using you as a pillow.” 

“Actually, I slept great.” Matt leaned down to kiss her. “I don’t mind being used as a pillow.” 

“Good to know.” Sylvie smiled. “What do you say we clean some of this mess up, then go grab some breakfast?” 

“Sounds great.” Matt agreed. “Let’s leave the glitter for them to deal with, though. That’s their problem for sure.” 

“Okay.” Sylvie laughed, grabbing the trash bag again. “There’s coffee in the pot, by the way.” 

Sylvie started picking up bottles again, tossing them into the bag. “I didn’t realize our friends were so messy.” 

“They were pretty drunk.” Matt laughed. 

“True.” Sylvie laughed. “Still.” 

“Sylvie?” 

Sylvie looked up at the sound of Matt’s voice. “Yeah?” 

“2021 is already better than 2020.” 

“It is.” Sylvie agreed with a smile. “And it’s only New Years’ Day.” 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> So, technically, it's still New Year's Day here on the west coast for another half an hour, so Happy New Year! I hope everybody had a safe holiday, and let's hope 2021 is better than 2020, and we finally get Brettsey canon.
> 
> I barely proofread this, as it's late and I'm exhausted, but I was inspired by the Brettsey fanfic prompts and wrote this in one sitting, and somehow managed to incorporate all three prompts in one.
> 
> Hope y'all enjoyed. 
> 
> As always, you can find me on tumblr (atiredfangirl) or on twitter (@chifirefangirl), where I'm fangirling over brettsey all day every day.


End file.
